93.9 The Eagle – The News and Talk of Columbia, MO
The Columbia city council voted to not establish another mask mandate in the city.
Members of the council had a split 3-3 vote during a special meeting Monday night. One council member, Ian Thomas, was not present. The ordinance needed six votes in order to pass.
Health director Stephanie Browning said that she did not think a mask mandate would increase public mask-wearing.
“I just know that what will happen is what we experienced before, and that it’s going to take a significant amount of our staff time to receive and respond to all of the complaints,” said Browning.
Dozens of citizens showed up to give public comments on the ordinance, but mayor Brian Treece chose to not allow public comment during the meeting, saying that several people were being too disruptive and not complying with the mask requirement for city facilities.
